Publications
Klezmer Institute Publications Of All Sorts
The Klezmer Institute has begun a series of music folios by authors with specialized knowledge about klezmer music and its relationship to Ashkenazic dance. These folios will highlight the specialized repertoire of klezmer families and to document the repertoires of important klezmer musicians. We are working with a number of scholars to publish new articles and bibliographies, make available previously unpublished conference papers, and to get permission to share hard-to-find journal articles. In future years, the Institute will develop projects to translate important works on Ashkenazic expressive culture topics into English.
Music Folio — Dave Levitt
The Levitt Legacy Klezmer Folio Vol. 1
This folio of 19 instrumental melodies and two songs from the Levitt klezmer family repertoire shows the evolution of American Jewish musical taste over the course of the twentieth century. Selected from surviving bandstand books and recordings, the collection includes tunes from the Boiberiker Kapelye, the klezmer “mid-century” and tunes popular up into the 1980s. An introductory essay by Clara Byom details biographic information about four generations of Levitt musicians and the life and times of working klezmorim in New York City. The folio is available for Concert, B-flat, and E-flat instruments.
Recording — Dave Levitt Trio
Dave Levitt Trio Plays Klezmer Music From The Levitt Legacy Klezmer Folio Vol. 1
This companion album to the Levitt Legacy Klezmer Folio includes nine selections from the Folio, and features Michael Winograd on clarinet, Christina Crowder on Accordion, and Dave Levitt on Trombone.
Music Folio — Christina Crowder
The KMDMP Folio
Executive Director Christina Crowder is creating a curated selections of melodies from the Kiselgof-Makonovetsky Digital Manuscript Project. This folio will give an overview of the corpus, with melodies drawn from instrumental pieces from many heftn (notebooks), vocal and instrumental niggunim, and a few songs. The folio will be a great resource for a variety of uses for musicians and singers of all ages and experience levels.
Please consider donating to the Klezmer Institute to reserve your copy of this folio!
Music Folio — Christina Crowder
The Bivolița Playbook
Executive Director Christina Crowder is curating a bandstand playbook for klezmer bands based on the Bivolița “Book,” combining tunes from the European and American klezmer canon, and suitable for both clarinet and violin lead instruments. The folio will include selected melodies for pre-ceremony rituals and processions, dance sets, dinner music, and sending the in-laws (and guests) home at the end of the evening.
Music Folio — Christina Crowder
Coarda De Vie (The Strings of Life): Selections From Romanian & Moldavian Folklore Collections
Klezmer accordionist Christina Crowder presents a folio of Moldavian tunes selected from her collection of Romanian and Moldavian instrumental folklore publications. The tunes range from direct variations of known klezmer tunes, through “klezmer-adjacent” tunes, to tunes that are just plain fun to play. With an introductory essay about sources and selections, and a field guide to performance approaches, this folio is an introduction to village and small town traditional music from Moldova and Bessarabia.
Music Folio — Clara Byom
American Klezmer in the Mid-century
Klezmer clarinetist Clara Byom presents a folio of American klezmer music from the period after the second world war and before the klezmer revival.
Book — Walter Zev Feldman
The Elusive Klezmer
Walter Zev Feldman writes a companion for his seminal Klezmer: Music, History, & Memory for general audiences.
